Category: Sides

OMG. It has been soooooooo long since I have posted on my blog and I am actually pretty excited to do so. The kids are in school and I am finding myself with some actual freedom to you know…… blink….. go to the bathroom by myself, eat a full meal in peace!! And of course post on my blog!

This post was actually inspired when I opened my fridge today to find my Mother-in-law’s leftover Coleslaw from my son’s birthday party. I am now enjoying it with my lunch and it is delicious. I know she won’t mind if I share it 😉 It’s so fresh and yummy and if you’re like myself and you don’t seem to get enough cruciferous veggies into your diet this is a perfect, easy to throw together slaw to get the job done. Just eyeball it when tossing the following ingredients into your food processor to chop up (see picture below for the consistency):

Red cabbage

Celery

Broccoli

Then add in the deliciousness….. chopped apple, chopped pecans, raisins and finish off with a simple store bought creamy poppy seed dressing (or make your own if you have the time). Great to take to work for lunch!

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I finally pulled some beets out of my garden today! I’ve been waiting…and watching…waiting..and watching and they finally got big enough. The tops of them started popping out of the ground so I pulled some of them out and of course I had to make something with them.

I really like the earthy taste of roasted beets by themselves, but I wanted to add a little extra something. Since I had some left over onion in the fridge I decided to make some caramelized onions to top it off. A drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and this makes a great side! Oh and my one year old actually loved the roasted beets by themselves, so try it out 😉

Just a side note, I am horrible with amounts for recipes. It’s my husbands pet peeve and often goes something like this:

Him: So how much do I put of this?

Me: I don’t know..just throw a bit in.

Him: (Eye roll. Sarcastic “ok”)

Him: How long do I cook it for?

Me: Until it’s done. 🙂

Him: Sigh. “Awesome.”

So on that note, I won’t give precise amounts for this recipe either as it’s only two main ingredients and it depends on how many people you are feeding. Use your awesome judgement on this one. 😉

Preheat your oven to 425. Cut the tops and ends off of the beets, scrub clean and lay on a paper towel just to get some excess moisture off. Wrap in foil lined with parchment paper and place on a baking sheet. Roast for about 45-60 minutes. Check at the 45 minute mark by poking with a fork…you want them tender and not hard.

While the beets are roasting, chop your onion into thin slices. Add a pad of butter to a cast iron frying pan (if you have one) over medium heat….if not a non-stick is fine. Once melted add your onion to the pan. Stir often to avoid burning and cook until nicely browned. Set aside.

Once done, remove and lay on a plate to cool slightly. Use a paper towel and “pinch” the skin to loosen it and peel it off each beat. Slice into wedges and put in a bowl.

Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar to your liking and top with the caramelized onions. This can be served warm right away, or made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for a few days.

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So you know those nights when you’re making a dish and you’re just not sure what to have as a side with it? Well this is what came together for me with some fresh green beans I had from our special delivery we get every week and some asparagus I had bought and needed to use up.

It was quick to pull together and could be even faster if you make up the vinaigrette ahead of time or even steam and refrigerate the greens ahead of time.

For this recipe I won’t include amounts, you can simply steam as many greens as you wish, but I will give the amounts for the balsamic vinaigrette. (You can keep this in the fridge and use for other salads).

You will need:

For the salad:

Green Beans

Asparagus

Shaved Parmesan

For the Balsamic Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup Balsamic

2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 Tbsp Honey

1/2 Tsp Sea Salt

For the greens, simply cut the ends off of the beans and wash. Snap the ends off of the asparagus and wash. Steam until tender but not soft. Meanwhile fill a large bowl with cold water. When the greens are done, use tongs to put them in the cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Add all dressing ingredients to a mason jar and shake until combined.

When you’re ready to eat simply dress your greens and shave some Parmesan on top! So simply and so easy.

*Note: You can keep your homemade dressing in the fridge to use with other meals. It may harden while cold….. an easy tip if you need it right away is to simply hold the jar under some warm tap water to help liquify it again 😉

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This pasta salad is an oldie but a goodie 🙂 You can really throw in anything that you fancy, but here is my version for today. It will change depending on what veggies I have in the fridge to use up. It may not work for your kids (if it does AWESOME!) but it’s a great one to have ready in your fridge for a quick one bowl lunch for Mama or to take to work. Of course you can always adjust it to suit your little ones palette also. I added some nutritional yeast for an extra boost of vitamin b12 (you can find it in most health food sections of your grocery store).

Ingredients: (Will make about 6 servings)

2 cups whole grain pasta

2 large carrots chopped

2 large handfuls of frozen peas

2 cans tuna in water (drained)

2 ribs celery chopped

1 large handful of spinach chopped

2 Tbsp Mayo (made with extra virgin olive oil)

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp grainy mustard

1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook the pasta as directed on the box (add the chopped carrot into the boiling water with the pasta). A couple minutes before the pasta/carrots are cooked throw in the frozen peas until end of cook time. Drain the pasta, carrots and peas and set aside.

Add the tuna, celery and spinach to a large bowl.

In a separate small bowl stir to combine the mayo, dijon mustard, grainy mustard and nutritional yeast.

Add the dressing to the pasta mixture in your large bowl stirring to combine. Add fine grain sea salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm, or keep in the fridge for a few days for quick lunches or as a side at dinner!

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Do you love ordering sweet potatoe fries and dipping sauce at restaurants? Try these baked sweet potatoe wedges and greek yogurt based dipping sauce for a healthier version! You can make them in wedges or cut them thinner to make fries…just adjust your cooking time accordingly.

For the potatoes….

2 Large Sweet Potatoes

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tsp Cumin

1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Dried dill

Pinch of Sea Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash and cut the ends off of your potatoes. Slice in half, and in half again and again creating wedges of similar size.

In a bowl combine the potatoe wedges with all remaining ingredients, using your hands to make sure they are all coated.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the potatoe wedges out in an even layer. I like to lay them skin side down.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes (or until they are soft when poked with a fork). Turn them half way through so they cook evenly. Times will vary depending on your oven, the size of your potatoe wedges and whether you like them more mushy or firm.

Meanwhile for the dipping sauce you will need….

1/2 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Tsp Minced Garlic (I used the minced garlic from the jar that contains some oil)

1/2 Tsp Smoked Paprika

1 Green Onion chopped

Pinch of Sea Salt & Pepper

Combine all ingredients and garnish with some extra green onion if you like. You can leave this in a bowl on top of your oven while the potatoes are cooking if you like it a bit warm.

Note – if you like spicy, totally add some cayenne to the potatoes or the dipping sauce!